History quiz
From today's obits:
Mr. Foster was born June 11, 1929, in Columbia to Jesse and Ella Foster. He attended Hickman High School and was an Eagle Scout.
After serving four years in Japan during World War II with the Marine Corps, he briefly owned a service station and was employed by Chrysler in Indianapolis. He later worked for National Gypsum Company and McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis. Mr. Foster retired in 1978 and returned to Columbia.
1) How old was the decedent when World War II ended?
2) For how many years was the United States a combatant in World War II?
3) At what point in the war did the Marine Corps enter Japan?
Mr. Foster was born June 11, 1929, in Columbia to Jesse and Ella Foster. He attended Hickman High School and was an Eagle Scout.
After serving four years in Japan during World War II with the Marine Corps, he briefly owned a service station and was employed by Chrysler in Indianapolis. He later worked for National Gypsum Company and McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis. Mr. Foster retired in 1978 and returned to Columbia.
1) How old was the decedent when World War II ended?
2) For how many years was the United States a combatant in World War II?
3) At what point in the war did the Marine Corps enter Japan?
posted by fev at 1:19 PM
1 Comments:
1. 16
2. 3 years and 8 months, roughly
3. February 19, 1945
There’s a chance the obit is not as far off as it might seem. Remember that "Japan" includes more than the main islands. Iwo Jima was then, and is now, recognized Japanese soil (well, Japanese rock and ash anyway). Ditto Okinawa. And a lot of too-young American boys successfully lied about their ages in order to serve in that war, so it’s possible that he really did serve as a U.S. Marine in Japan during the war, though he could not have literally spent his full four-year hitch in Japan during the war as the obit seems to suggest.
But you’re right, the obit’s dates should raise major questions. Maybe some of those questions were asked and the birth date was CQ’d, but at the very least the four-year reference still needed to be clarified and reworked.
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